Deputy charged with bringing assault weapon into San Francisco City Hall

A San Francisco County sheriff’s deputy has been charged with possession of an assault weapon after he brought a modified semiautomatic pistol into City Hall last year, prosecutors said.

Jalen Rosales, 27, voluntarily surrendered to authorities Tuesday, according to the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office.

Rosales was providing security at an event on Nov. 8 at City Hall and left a backpack in a locker room at the government building, according to a release from the San Francisco district attorney’s office.

After his overtime shift ended, he asked another deputy to retrieve the bag for him. That deputy found the gun inside the backpack, prosecutors said.

The weapon, which was registered to Rosales, was a Franklin Armory pistol. Although that type of gun is legal, the modifications that made it semiautomatic, rendered it an illegal assault weapon under California law, officials said.

Following the incident, the sheriff’s office launched a criminal investigation of Rosales in November and shared the information with the D.A.’s office, said Nancy Crowley, a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson.

“This arrest is a reminder that no one is above the law,” San Francisco Dist. Atty. Chesa Boudin said. “My office will continue to hold accountable our law enforcement officers, whom we trust to know and abide by the laws around gun possession.”

Rosales was arrested Tuesday, but has since been released on bail for $1,000, Crowley said. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the felony charge Aug. 20. If convicted, he could face up to three years in prison, according to the state’s penal code. If he were to get probation, it could be up to a year.

Rosales joined the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office in April 2017, Crowley said. He has been placed on paid administrative leave by Sheriff Paul Miyamoto.